Southern California -- this just in

Supervisor Gloria Molina wants 'independent receiver' appointed to take over in Bell [Updated]

September 21, 2010 | 9:41
am

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina is asking state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to ask a judge to appoint an independent receiver to take over operations in the scandal-plagued city of Bell.

[For the record at 11:52 a.m.: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Molina was going to ask the county Board of Supervisors to appoint the receiver.]

The "blatant, pervasive, and unchecked corruption" is worsened by the fact that members of the Bell City Council have not resigned their positions, according to the motion Molina plans to introduce at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.

Molina wants to prohibit the City Council from appropriating any funds or entering into any contracts, appoint an independent receiver to facilitate operations in Bell, designate the county's registrar-recorder as the agency responsible for the city's elections, and direct Bell to pay the county $2.9 million it had allegedly illegally collected in property taxes so the county can provide refunds.